Teacher's read on news, developments, and blogs.

January 2006 Archives

Elementary school teacher Pigs describes a puzzling incident in which a 5th-grade girl, surrounded by a group of giggling peers, summoned her to the hallway to tell her some important news: “I got two hundreds on my spelling tests two weeks in a row, and I saved up to 20% on auto insurance by calling G----! Bye!" The experience prompts Pigs to postulate that “Strange and inexplicable things happen to 5th-graders after Christmas break.” But maybe it’s not just 5th graders. In his blog, Hobo Teacher recounts how, at recent faculty meeting at his school, “the superintendent started with ...

Polski3 weighs in on her concerns over a plan to provide scholarship money to students at schools deemed "rigorous" by the Feds: So, who is left behind in this latest meddling by the Feds in education? Any kid who doesn't plan to attend college. I seriously doubt that any kind of class involving shop, art, business office skills or learning any kind of "trade" skill will be deemed as "rigorous". So, only scholarship money to those who plan to go to a college or university for "academic" coursework. Fine, but someday, who will deal with your fancy car that needs ...

Back from an extended blogging hiatus, Bronx high school teacher Mr. Babylon shares the experience of showing his inner-city students the classic film To Kill a Mockingbird. I’ve mentioned before that I am not one to break down in tears at the workplace, or anywhere else for that matter. I have also mentioned that my one weakness in this department is books, and sporting events (especially if they trot out some badass old-timer for a rousing ovation,) and movies. Well, it happened. I knew it was coming, the end of that damn trial scene, and I was holding it ...

As an (anonymous) Indiana superintendent points out on his (or her) blog, sometimes it pays to look beyond our borders to get a sense for what's wrong -- and what's right -- about American education. Try Singapore, where a recent Newsweek article points out a key contrast: I talked to Tharman Shanmugaratnam to understand it better. He's the minister of Education of Singapore, the country that is No. 1 in the global science and math rankings for schoolchildren. I asked the minister how to explain the fact that even though Singapore's students do so brilliantly on these tests, when you ...

In discussing the limited certification options for nontraditional teachers in his state, substitute teacher Mr. Chips suggests one requirement that makes sense to him. One thing I'd like to add to that is that I think substituting for one (1) year should also be mandatory for all new teachers regardless of age. No, this is not my way of getting back at everyone because of my sometimes great disgust with subbing. It's because I know of too many people who walked out of college and immediately got a full-time position without having to sub one single day while the rest ...

After recounting an incident in which a student was almost mistakenly removed from his home by the local child services administration, writingsam, a young teacher in New York, reflects on how her idealism has been tempered by the reality of her students’ problems. Or perhaps the better word is toughened: Over the Christmas break, my mother and I were laughing about how intent I was on saving the world during college. After the aforementioned vaguely described incident, one student verbalizing that he wanted to commit suicide, and another student crying that he was scared to go back to live in ...

With a new year beginning, Newoldschoolteacher is preparing to student teach at another school, which prompted a meditation on why one way to fail students is to not give them Fs: I mean, we all need a little love, right? Not me, I'm a heartless robot with a soul of steel. Which is one reason I don't have a problem failing students. If a student is so behind that he/she can't catch up during the year, it is in that student's best interest to repeat and acquire the necessary skills. Likewise, a student who never does his/her work ...

Pigs shares what has to be the least morale-boosting activity ever: an activity booth where students pay money to kick soccer balls at teachers' faces. Just how much disrespect do you have for your teachers when you allow a parent to construct a booth with teacher's pictures whose sole purpose is to be a target for a soccer ball kicked by children? Just what level of disrespect is that? To be fair, Pigs says, school administrators changed the name of the activity booth from "Kick ThatTeacher" to "Pick That Teacher." Um... much better then. Never mind the fact that, as ...